Patrice Price, 26, was driving a car belonging to her security guard boyfriend when her toddler fired the weapon delivering a single fatal blow to her back.

The "hard-working" mum-of-three managed to pull up on Highway 175 in Milwaukee, US before she was pronounced dead at the scene Tuesday evening.

The County Sheriff's Office said: “Initial witness accounts indicate that a child in the back seat of the vehicle got a hold of a gun and discharged the firearm, sending a single bullet into the driver’s back.

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DEVASTATED: Patrice's father paid tribute to the "hard-working" mum

“I just want to hold my daughter one last time”

Father, Andre Price

"The MCSO investigation into the death is on-going."

It is unclear how the child got hold of the gun.

But devastated dad Andre Price claims it did not belong to his daughter.

Visibly distraught, he spoke to local news channels to pay tribute to Patrice.

He said: "My chest is hurting.

"I want to hold my daughter for one last time."

The tragedy comes just months after a mum was shot in the back by her four-year-old son who had found a loaded gun in a car in Florida.